Unveiling the power of teacher credibility and care in learners’ motivation through the lens of rhetorical/relational and broaden-and-build theory

In light of the challenge posed by the need to sustain learners' motivation within educational environments, it is imperative to investigate the issues that contribute to its enhancement. To enhance learners' motivation, scholarly literature suggests that educators have a remarkable function in this regard, with various facets linked with teachers such as their behaviors. The significance of teacher credibility and care in the classroom has been established in academic literature. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research on the importance of these two constructs in predicting students' motivation using the two significant theories of motivation, namely Broaden-and-Build and Rhetorical/Relational. To address the gap, 696 students from eight different areas of China were asked to complete three different questionnaires measuring motivation, credibility, and teacher care. The data was then analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) and the results revealed that the credibility and care of teachers have a significant impact on students' motivation. Indeed, a robust positive correlation (r = 0.62, p < 0.05) is observed between teacher credibility and student motivation. This indicates that elevated teacher credibility is significantly associated with higher levels of students' motivation. Furthermore, a strong positive correlation (r = 0.68, p < 0.05) is also identified between teacher care and students' motivation. This suggests that increased teacher care is significantly linked to higher levels of students' motivation. In addition, both credibility and care could predict learners' motivation, but teacher care was a better predictor representing about 86 % of changes in motivation. The results of the study were discussed, along with their potential impact on teaching practices, and recommendations for future research were also offered.